Wizard: Starting with Dealing with Magical Plants

Chapter 314 Sending Commands, An Unexpected Result

Immediately afterwards, a vast, chaotic, but indeed information-rich, weak data stream, like a trickle, began to flow into Rolin's consciousness through his mental connection.

Instead of clear language or images, it's a more raw, highly compressed and encoded environment-aware data packet!

Temperature reading — Magic concentration gradient — Spatial stability coefficient — Biological mass scan result (weak) —

Record of abnormal energy fluctuations —

These fragmented and repetitive data are clearly status reports that this outpost core has been continuously scanning its surroundings and sending out over a long period of time.

Rowling focused all his attention, like the most sophisticated decoder, and began to try to analyze the raw data.

This requires him to combine his understanding of energy fluctuations, his mastery of rune logic, and common sense about the surrounding environment to make inferences.

The temperature readings are extremely low, remaining below freezing for extended periods, consistent with the characteristics of permafrost wastelands.

The magic concentration fluctuates periodically, reaching several times that of the normal area at its peak, and almost completely depleted at its trough, which is consistent with the unique "magic tide" phenomenon of the Howling Rift.

Spatial stability — mostly normal, but at certain specific points in time there will be brief, weak disturbances, like the aftershocks of some kind of spatial teleportation or tearing.

The biological quality scan results were very scarce, with only a few scattered life reactions of low intensity, mostly from monsters adapted to the extremely cold environment.

But among some of the records, there were a few faint signals with obvious order and metallic characteristics.

It looks like a construct?

Or a humanoid creature wearing highly enchanted armor?

Records of abnormal energy fluctuations are the most complex.

Most of them are bursts of ice-attribute energy or leaks of ley line energy, which are common in the permafrost wasteland.

However, similarly, near those same points in time when spatial disturbances occur, there will always be a specific, brief but intense energy peak with a dark golden order!

This is clearly an energy signature left behind when the Observer Protocol Unit is activated or transmitted!

Luo Lin was deeply shocked.

In the vicinity of this outpost, there have been traces of the Pale Hand's activities and records of Observer Protocol units appearing over the past period of time!

Moreover, it seems to be related to spatial disturbance phenomena!

He continued to delve deeper into analyzing those faint biosignals that carried an air of order and metallic characteristics.

The signal strength was very low, indicating that the location was far from the outpost or that there was some kind of shielding. However, by comparing the changes in signal strength and relative position at different times, Luo Lin could vaguely outline several blurry movement trajectories.

It appears that several small teams are conducting regular patrols or searches in specific areas on the edge of the permafrost.

Is it the pale hand that is manipulating the construct?

Or is the Observer Protocol unit tracking something?

The data stream continues to pour in, and the amount of information is growing larger and larger.

Luo Lin felt as if he were deciphering a code against the current, his brain working at high speed, the power of [Quiet Dust Star] frantically stabilizing his consciousness and filtering out the onslaught of complex information.

Just then, a more structured information fragment, distinct from the environmental data, suddenly appeared in the data stream, like a reef!

That appears to be a status report request that was repeatedly sent but never received a response!

The encoding format is more complex, with clear protocol layer identifiers.

Rowling could barely make out a few key phrases: "Outpost: Watchmen 7 —"

"Protocol execution status: Under continuous monitoring —"

Energy level: Low (17%) —

"External interface status: Abnormal — Non-protocol connection attempt detected — Blocking — Failed — Interface functionality partially restricted —"

"Request instructions: Clean up non-protocol connections? Elevate alert level? Request regional support?"

This message is clearly a report from the outpost itself to its superiors!

The text mentions "non-protocol connection attempts" and "partial limitation of interface functionality," which corresponds exactly to the non-standard interface that Marcus discovered, which appears to have been added by the Pale Hand!

More importantly, it is "requesting instructions"!

This indicates that its advanced control protocols may be missing or interrupted, making it unable to make decisions autonomously!

This is an opportunity!

An opportunity to potentially interact with it using its "request instruction" state!

However, the risks are also extremely high.

Any inappropriate response could be detected or trigger a higher-level alert.

Rowling's heart skipped a beat.

He forced himself to calm down and quickly weighed the pros and cons.

It merely passively receives data, and its value is limited.

If you can take advantage of this "request command" opportunity, send a seemingly reasonable and harmless command reply —

For example, a vague instruction like "Maintain the status quo, continue monitoring, do not clean up for now, and prioritize energy for basic functions"?

This requires him to have a deeper understanding of the instruction format and logic of the observer protocol, and the talisman's "protocol disguise" needs to be realistic enough.

He recalled the "instruction reception and forwarding" rune array parsed from the fragments of the rule substrate, as well as Master Evelyn's description of condition judgments and state feedback in her "General Rune Logic Syntax".

An extremely simplified "command framework" that mimics the replies from higher-level units gradually took shape in my mind.

It lacks specific coordinates and explicit authorization; it's merely a generic response to a status reporting request.

Rolin took a deep breath, "wrapped" the vague command framework with the "protocol rhythm" simulated by the talisman, and then, following the mental connection, gently and tentatively pushed it toward the source of the "request command" information.

The moment the command was issued, all of Luo Lin's muscles tensed up, his mind highly focused, ready to sever the connection at any moment.

The core pulse suddenly stopped!

The dark red light completely solidified!

Time seemed to stretch out.

Every second felt like an eternity.

Master Aurora's spiritual power surrounding the platform fluctuated slightly, clearly indicating that she had also noticed the anomaly.

Master Evelyn clenched her fist at the door.

Approximately three seconds later.

The core pulse resumed, but at a slower frequency than before, and the dark red light became softer and more stable.

The massive, continuously transmitted stream of environmental data remained unchanged.

However, the message segment of the "request instruction" changed from a continuously sending status to a "received and being processed" status.

Immediately afterwards, the core sent back a very brief, cold, but unmistakable message to Rolin's mental connection: "Command received."

Protocol priority: low.

Execution: Maintain basic monitoring, optimize energy allocation, and temporarily mark non-protocol connections (for observation).

Status: Standby.

It worked!

The vague instruction was accepted!

The core interprets this as a low-priority, status-maintaining instruction from a higher authority, and temporarily suspends the request to "clean up non-protocol connections," simply marking it as "observation"!

Luo Lin suppressed his excitement and did not make any unnecessary movements, continuing to passively receive data.

About ten minutes later, he felt his mental energy being depleted more rapidly, and the stabilizing effect of [Quiet Dust Star] was also weakening. He knew it was time to end it.

He slowly and steadily withdrew his mental perception from the data stream, took one last look at the core that had resumed its regular pulsation, and then completely severed the connection.

The moment my spirit returned to my body, a strong sense of dizziness and emptiness washed over me.

Roland swayed and only managed to steady himself by grabbing the edge of the crystal platform.

Master Aurora opened her eyes, her vast spiritual power slowly receding, and looked at Roland with concern: "Child, how are you feeling?"

"It's alright—it's just that my mental energy is quite depleted." Roland gasped for breath, his face pale. "Connection—"

It was a success.

"They acquired some data and also sent a probing command."

Master Evelyn strode forward and checked the core's condition. It was still pulsating steadily, with no abnormalities.

Then he looked at Rolin, his eyes questioning, "Command? What command did you send?"

Rowling briefly described how he discovered the "status reporting request" fragment during the connection process, as well as the process and result of his risky act of sending ambiguous commands.

After listening, Master Evelyn remained silent for a moment, her eyes flashing with a complex light, including approval, solemnity, and a hint of lingering fear.

"It was risky, but also—ingenious," she concluded. "Exploiting a vulnerability in its request command mechanism to send a low-priority, status-maintaining, ambiguous command was indeed the least likely way to arouse suspicion."

"Moreover, temporarily marking this result for non-protocol connections is advantageous to us."

"The Pale Hand may not yet be aware that their connection attempts have been noticed by the core."

She looked at Master Aurora: "Aurora, during the connection process just now, did you notice any unusual energy leakage or remote connection attempts?"

Master Aurora slowly shook her head: "No. All fluctuations are confined within the room."

"The data stream sent by that core was also unidirectional and low-intensity environmental scan data, and no obvious location or call for support signals were found."

"That's good." Master Evelyn breathed a sigh of relief. "Roland, the information you brought back is very important."

"Those environmental data, especially the records of spatial disturbances and the correlation between the energy peaks of the observer units, as well as the activity trajectories of suspected constructs or highly enchanted units, likely point to the true purpose of the Pale Hand in the Frozen Wasteland, and some kind of connection or conflict that may exist between them and the Observer Legacy."

She carefully retrieved the core into the metal box and fastened it securely.

"This information needs to be organized and analyzed immediately."

"Luo Lin, go back and rest first. As soon as possible, organize all the data you received and parsed into a detailed report."

"The environmental data and maps that Marcus brings will also be provided to you for reference."

"Tomorrow afternoon, in my office, we need to hold a small, emergency meeting to discuss these findings."

"Yes," Luo Lin replied, feeling a little dizzy.

Escorted by Hawke, Rowling left the "Absolute Silence Chamber" and returned to the stone house.

He almost fell asleep immediately, only to be awakened by hunger in his stomach in the late afternoon.

After waking up, his mental energy had mostly recovered.

He ate a quick bite and immediately sat down at his worktable, spread out a new sheet of parchment, and began to try to reproduce, as meticulously as possible, the environmental data and anomaly records he had received during the connection, as well as the information and speculations he had deciphered.

This was an extremely labor-intensive process. The raw data was messy and massive, requiring him to sort, compare, and summarize it bit by bit.

Duan Yu and Lan Yu seemed to sense their master's busyness and fatigue, and stayed quietly on the windowsill without making a sound.

Baha remained perched on the shelf, his six eyes gleaming faintly in the dim light.

As night deepened, the magic lamp in the stone house remained lit until dawn.

As the first rays of dawn shone through the window into his studio, Rowling finally put down his quill.

The table was piled high with parchment covered in data and symbols. A well-organized and detailed preliminary analysis report had been completed.

He rubbed his sore eyes and let out a long sigh.

The secrets of the permafrost, the movements of the pale hand, the anomalies at the observer outpost—these fragmented pieces of information are gradually being pieced together by his pen into a blurry yet unsettling picture.

The meeting tomorrow afternoon may determine how the Secret Whisper Council, and even the Dustwind Plains, should respond to this.